Moderna-Merck Cancer Vaccine Shows Breakthrough in Melanoma Trial

Moderna and Merck are testing a vaccine made for each person’s cancer.

The vaccine studies mutations in a patient’s tumor and teaches the immune system what to attack.

It was tested in more than 1,000 people with melanoma whose tumors had been surgically removed.

The vaccine was used together with a medicine called Keytruda.

The companies said the treatment helped keep tumors from returning or spreading in the trial.

Earlier cancer vaccines had often failed because they targeted only a small number of cancer features.

This vaccine can target many features at once.

Scientists still need to publish the full results and test whether it works against other cancers.

U.S. approval could happen as soon as next year, according to the report.